TombCharted: Forever The Adventurers
by chaansan
Summary: While searching for ancient artefacts in the South American jungle, two adventurers bump into each The possibilities are endless from there :D (DO NOT THIS SHIT IS OLDER THAN A RATCHET-ASS TUB OF MAYONNAISE )
1. Glimmering Incan Sun

**Chapter 1 – Glimmering Incan Sun**

The soft, glowing sunlight filtered the dark room with glimmering gold luminescence that settled onto a single spot on a wide stone altar, a beautiful emerald the size of a walnut with the image of a cougar bellowing etched into the hard gem.

Lara Croft, forever an adventurer, explorer and tomb robber, had a less than vague idea of how the stone worked or was for, but she couldn't care less. It was beautiful, and she _had_ to have it.

But her instincts told her otherwise. They whispered to her, warned her not to take it without checking her surroundings first.

Lara knelt down and slid her backpack from her shoulders, down her long arms, and slipped it onto her knee. She unhooked the straps and opened her pack up, pulling out a long black flashlight and flicking it on, and exploring the tomb visually. She noticed giant spiders the size of her hand shunning away the light and retreating into little nooks and crannies in the wall. Lara shuddered a bit, and then noticed a massive stone trap directly above her, a series of ropes attached that could release it any time.

Lara shrugged. Meh. These guys were alright, but they'd have to do a little more than _that_ to screw her up.

A crack of thunder echoed through the South American rainforest, and Lara turned toward the artefact once more. She looked above it. No traps. She examined all of her surroundings. Other than the gigantic block of stone hanging above the doorway, there was nothing, and there were plenty of windows to leap out of if she had to resort to that.

Lara's back straightened, and her hand whirled out and grabbed the gem. She retracted her arm just in time, too, because before she knew it.... _SNAP!_ A huge stone claw slashed across the surface of the altar, and anyone there would have been sliced in half.

Lara bolted out of the room, past the falling chunk of rock and into a trapped hallway of _doom_. Giant axes swooped in and out of the room, giant knives skewered the floor, and spike pits defied her long-jumping skills.

Fortunately, a window allowed Lara's escape, but then again, that would be _too_ easy.

Lara drew in a deep breath as backed up and started forward in a light job, then a run, and then a sprint. She dove under an axe, avoiding it easily, but the knives her more difficult. Her sprint increased, and she leapt into the air, bringing her arms out so that her back was arched, and her legs were solid. A swan dive. Thankfully, her timing was just right, and Lara made it onto the other side just as the last few blades retracted, and she somersaulted and bounced back into a light run again.

She found a huge spike pit in her way, the hundred razor daggers inside tormenting her. She dashed toward its edge and hurtled across the pit, gripping onto the opposite edge and scampering up it, the jagged spears poking at the soles of her boots. She collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping for air, and coughed once, followed by a wave of laughter that filled her up

"Well, now that that's over," She stared into the gem's core, tracing the cougar design with her index finger. "I think _someone_ needs a hot shower."

She stood up, stepping out into the welcoming morning sunlight, and the stone doors behind her sealed, along with the fabled traps of the Incan people.

_Click, click, click, click, click, click...._

Lara drew the twin pistols at her hips and turned at her heel, glaring at the men who've snuck up on her. Mercenaries. Lara never feared these people. To her, they were always just a pain in the arse. They're just a couple of men with no lives trying to make money by being on the wrong team. They should go to college or something, but then again, Lara wasn't their mother. She was their enemy. That's how it always was. Lara was their enemy, and she was theirs. Nobody could ever enjoy the company of a no-good, rotten tomb raider. Except for maybe Winston, her faithful butler.

"C'mon." grunted one of them. "Drop your weapons."

Lara glared at him and tossed away her pistols, but kept her knife concealed on her belt.

"Shawn, check her."

"Yes, sir." replied a smaller man. He clutched Lara's wrists together and her stuffed his hands into her back pockets, front pockets, belt (where he found the knife and threw it to the ground), and finally her backpack. He reached inside and shuffled about, pulling out her spare pistol and the gem she recovered earlier.

"There we are...."cooed the other soldier. He raised his right hand, and Shawn passed it to him. "Beautiful."

"I'll raid your tomb anytime, sweetheart." Shawn grinned and smacked Lara's arse before walking back to his troop.

Lara sneered at them, gritting her teeth together. "Who do you work for?" she demanded.

"It would be pretty stupid to tell you, now wouldn't it?"The men chuckled.

"Well, I'm going to die anyway, right? Where's the big confession?"

"That's not for us to tell, Miss Croft." he told her. "Oh, and one more thing before you're executed,"

"Hm?"

"You've got great teeth for a British gal."

Lara rolled her eyes. She already had a plan in motion. The trees were very thick as well as the bushes. There wasn't a river too far from where she stood. She could dive into there. She'd flow along to wherever the current took her. As for weapons, well, they could always be replaced. She had some ammo left, anyway, and Shawn forgot to check on of the back pockets of her pack. There was yet another knife in there, but it shouldn't exactly be used as a killing tool.

_BAM!_

The crack of a gun was fired into the air. She blinked. Was she dead? Already? She saw blood. Was it her own? She took in the change of her surroundings. The head mercenary had been shot through the neck with a sniper. All of the other soldiers were looking to the trees and firing. Shawn was the next to be picked off. Without further ado, Lara bolted into the brush, and disappeared from everyone's sight.


	2. Master of Melee

**Chapter 2 – The Master of Melee**

Nate ducked behind the thick, old tree, evading an array of bullets intending on shredding him up like a rabid dog. He reloaded quickly, balancing himself on the narrow tree branch, and turned to face the mercenaries. He guided his laser sight to another one of them and took a shot, and hid behind his cover as a shower of bullets battered the ancient timber.

_Chick, chick._

Huh? What? No.... CRAP!!!!!

_BAM!!!!_

Right bellow him, a soldier wielding a shotgun blew apart his tree branch so that it dissolved into a thousand splinters. Nate fell; plummeted to the forest floor, screaming, and he crashed into a canopy of moss and other decomposing forest remains. He rolled off of the mush and crashed to the ground, whipping out his pistol and taking aim at the mercenary with the shotgun. He fired off half of an entire round, but his bullets were no match for his enemy's protective jacket.

The mercenary pumped the shotgun, smirking, and took aim. Nate rolled to the side as he shot his weapon, and he narrowly avoided a painful death; for the soft dirt took the force for him.

Nate pushed himself off of the forest floor and approached the man just as he pumped it yet again.

_Chick, chick._

Nathan ducked under the next blow and brought his fist up to the soldier's chin. The man stumbled back a bit, but rebounded and took hold of Nate's shoulders, bringing back his head and forcing it forward. Nate ducked, just avoiding the head-bonk, and took hold of his legs, bringing them up and over his head. The mercenary flew through the air and.... _WHAM_.... He slammed right into the trunk of a tree, headfirst, and crumpled to the ground

"Nice, kid!" called out a gruff voice from the forest's depths.

Nate grabbed the shotgun for his own personal use and took cover behind another tree. He examined the gun quickly, and smiled to himself.

_Nice, _He thought, _a Moss._

"Help me out!" cried the voice again.

"God dammit, Sully." he mumbled to himself. "I'm coming. Jeesh,"

Nate peeked out from behind the trunk and blasted the shotgun right into somebody's stomach. Ouch. He pumped it and jammed his finger down on the trigger, taking down the last of the men. He heaved a sigh of relief and exited his cover, dropping the shotgun; useless with an empty capacity.

"Sully?" he called out.

"Hey, kid."

Nate found Sully struggling to tear apart from the stringy vines and bushes, and he saw him sinking into a pool of mud. Nate laughed at him, sauntering over to help the old man get out of the quick sand. They grasped hands, and with one firm tug, Sully popped out of the mud and nearly fell to the ground.

"Thanks." Sully grunted, dusting off his bowling shirt and lighting a cigar for him to enjoy.

Nate rolled his eyes, pulling the lighter out of his hands. "Whoa, cowboy. What makes you think you've earned that?"

"Nate, give a guy a break...." Sully attempted to grab back his lighter, but Nate held it away from him, and Sully became irritable and frustrated quicker than Nate expected.

"NATE! Give me the God-damned LIGHTER!"

"Take it easy, Sully." Nate held up his hands defensively, taking a step back from him.

"Nate...."

"Fine," Nate chucked the lighter into Sully's open hand. "Quickly. We've got work to do."

Sully murmured a couple of curses as he lit his cigar, and after a few puffs, the redness in his face evaporated.

"So, who do you think that girl was?" he questioned, sucking on the cigar.

"A lame excuse for a treasure hunter, that's what."

"Mmm...." Sully mumbled. "I wonder if those things are fake...." He pondered.

"What?! Ugh. That's all you think about?"

"Oh, come on, Nate. Like you didn't notice those gigantic things! Her figure wasn't bad either."

Nate chuckled. "Sure I did. But I didn't tell the world about it."

"If it _had_ to be the last thing I ever see, I think it would be her, topless, with light coming in from behind her."

"Oh," Nate took a step away from him. "I know you're good natured and one hell of a party buddy, but that was over the top, Sully."

Nate noticed a beautiful emerald in the hands of a dead mercenary, and he snatched it up quickly. Nate looked at Sully once more, shook his head, smiling, and trotted into the rainforest, Sully not far behind him when he heard more gunfire coming from the trees.

Lara ran.

She ran, and ran, and ran some more, but she couldn't dash through the dripping-wet forest forever. A cramp in her thigh stopped her dead in her tracks, and she collapsed by vicious rapids not a while later. She sighed, rolling onto her back, holding her chest, and began planning out her journey.

She closed her eyes, and it began to rain, but she didn't care. She was tired from her trip from England to Peru, when she traveled into the rainforest and trekked to a small village somewhere in the mountains, and continued to the temple where she found the gem. Thoughts of her plan buzzed around in her head, and she thought about all of her adventures, big and small, and she fell into a deep sleep.

She awoke with a start to the sound of multiple guns being shot, and swore to herself, bouncing up from the soft, damp grass and reached to her harnesses, but then remembered that she'd been robbed of her weaponry before. How long was she asleep? _How_ could she have fallen into such a slumber when being pursued by mercenaries?! She was so _stupid_ for slipping away like that.

_BAM!_

She gasped and worriedly looked into the river. Her eyes widened when she saw the sight before her. Crocodiles. Long, scaly, deadly crocodiles. Or were they alligators? She couldn't tell at the moment. She considered diving into the river, but would she survive? Would she make it out safely? Perhaps she could run along the bank and find a safer place to get across.

She jumped when she heard a rustle coming from the trees behind her, and a cold, icy feeling crawled up her spine. She turned quickly, stepping backward rapidly, and was surprised to find two men pop out of the bushes. One was older than the other, maybe mid 50's or so, clad in a Hawaiian-style bowling shirt, with droopy hound dog eyes, and a wide forehead. His hair was probably once a dark, rich colour, but gray had taken over parts of his hair and his entire moustache.

The other was much younger, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, with dark chocolate brown hair, smaller lips and a fair sized nose. His gray-green eyes were panicked and worried, and when they found Lara, he drew a pistol from a leather holster wrapped around his olive shirt and aimed at Lara's head.

She examined these men further.

"You're not mercenaries." she thought aloud.

"Well, no." said the older of the two. "We're not."

"So what brings you two in the middle of the Peruvian jungle?"

"Looking for this," The younger man reached into his pocket and pulled out a single glistening emerald.

Lara gasped. "That's _mine_." She sneered, clenching her fists together.

"Yeah, well, do you happen to have the chalice to go with it?" he countered.

"Chalice?" Lara asked. "What are you going on about?"

"Psht." the younger man rolled his eyes, placing his gun back at his side. "Some tomb robber, eh Sully?"

Both began to laugh then, and Lara's lip curled all the way up to her nose. She lunged at the younger man, and pressed her fist into his strong jaw when he was down, and he coiled back somewhat, and returned the blow with his forehead against hers.

Lara fell back, dizzy, but regained her mental balance even though the sickening feeling that spun through her made her want to collapse and take another nap.

Lara somersaulted backward onto her feet and flipped through the air aiming her boots at his chest, but he twisted his body sideways, avoiding her attack. He got to his feet quickly and heaved his fist toward Lara's stomach, but she ducked under his arm and clamped her hands around his neck, pushing him down again. She banged his head into the ground once, twice, three times, and then he grabbed hold of her waist and forced her off his chest. Lara rebounded, and started toward him once more, but he drew his gun, the point pressing into her forehead. She stopped, thinking of a plan.

_Raise your hand quickly and push it aside. Then punch him in the chin. _She told herself quickly.

Lara whacked the pistol away from her face attempted a punch from under his chin, but he caught her fist with his hand, and Lara brought back her boot and swung it forward, smashing it right into the soft spot between his legs. His eyes bulged out of his head as he collapsed to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"Okay!" he grunted in a high, squeaky voice. "I give up."

"Oh, c'mon," Lara knelt down to his level, sliding his gun out of his holster and aiming lazily at his chest, a playful smirk playing on her lips. "Don't tell me you've given up."

"You hit me in the balls! Game over!" he rasped, clutching onto his nut sack.

"Oh, fine," Lara rolled her eyes, stashing away his gun. "Oh, and I'll be taking this."

Running her hand along his thigh teasingly, Lara reached a bulge in his pocket, and stuffed her hand in and brought out the gem. She stood grinning, and turned toward the river to find the older man, gun wielded and pointed at her.

"Give me the gem," he ordered in a brusque tone, holding out his right hand. "And nobody gets hurt."

Lara rolled her eyes, pushing the pistol away slowly. "Nice try, sweetheart." she whispered, patting his cheek. "But I think all of his genitals have been mashed together into a niiice fruit salad. Have fun." She began walking to the river, but heard the many clicks of guns from behind her.

_No._

"Drop your weapons!"

"Ugh." Lara moaned, tossing her gun to the ground once more. "Get knotted!"

"I'm with her." said the younger man. "You guys are really starting to piss me off."

"Well, well, well."

Lara turned, and was surprised (or maybe even horrified) to see the sight before her.

"_No._"

"Who's this asshole?"

"Crazy Tony," Lara chuckled. "I thought I killed you in India."

"Tony's back, baby." he said, laughing himself. Lara noticed how his hair was a little crazier than it was the last time she saw him, though he wore the same shades, cargo pants and jacket.

"Mmm, yes," Lara mumbled. "How are Randy and Rory?"

"They died." Tony sighed, turning to face the two other men. "Who are these guys?"

"I can't for the life of me figure that out." Lara said, disappointed.

"You," Tony said, pointing at the older of the two. "What's your name?"

"Victor Sullivan." he replied quietly, glaring at Tony. "Who's the lady?"

"Croft," Tony murmured. "Lara Croft."

"WHAT?!" cried the younger man, standing up immediately. "_The_ Lara Croft?"

Lara rolled her eyes. "Gosh. Publicity these days, huh?"

"Holy _crap_.... Who knew I'd run into you!"

"What do you want?" Lara glowered at him, annoyed.

"Oh, c'mon, Lara, don't you remember me? We went to college together!" He made his way over to her slowly, winking.

"Sorry," Lara said, playing along. "You're a familiar face, but.... Your name, what is it?"

"Nathan. We went to math 101 together."

"Nathan! Right! Nathan," _Think, damn you, think. _"DuPont! You were best friends with my roommate," _Think...... _"Sophia Leigh, right? Good— No, _great_ times, huh?"

"Oh, Definitely. I remember the time that you let all the teachers touch your bare breasts. What a great year that was!"

"Oh, and I remember the time you got drunk with the frat boys and had a one night stand with that scrawny science nerd."

"Oh, remember the time that you—"

"ENOUGH!" Tony screamed, stopping them abruptly. "No more of this bull crap! They're telling me that these are lies. Pure LIES!"

"Well, what if _they_ are wrong?" asked Nathan— _if_ that was his real name.

"They are never wrong," Tony muttered under his breath, becoming irritable and impatient by the second. "The gem, Miss Croft?"

"Well," she said innocently. "I was trying to make my big escape when I tripped and it tumbled down the bank." Lara shrugged. "Actually, I think it's stuck in the mud right now. I could go get it if you want."

Lara knew Tony was either off his rocker or just plain high, but he was trickier than people gave him credit for. But now, without the stone that gave him devious powers so many years ago, he was just another man full of crazy ideas and thoughts. Surely he could be played at his own game.

Tony considered the thought for a moment, and in the end, he just sent one of his own men over to check it out. Nathan motioned for Sully to come over, and surprisingly, the mercenaries let him. Lara, Nathan and Sully stepped to the water's edge and considered their options.

"Crocodiles," Lara whispered to Nathan.

"Mercenaries," he countered quietly.

"I swear, you are such a cheeky little blight. Let's just cause a distraction, and then jump. Sound good?"

"Apart from the 'being ripped to pieces' part, yeah, it's pure genius, Lara!"

Lara sneered at him. "Look, do you have a grenade?"

"Two."

"Perfect. Hand one to me."

Nathan checked his surroundings quickly before tossing Lara a small grenade. Lara smiled, turning around, her hands at her hips with the nade concealed in one hand.

"Tony," Lara said suddenly, interrupting Tony's mine for earwax. "There's something you should know."

"Quiet, Rick...." Tony told himself, twitching. "What?"

"I lied, dear Tony. They were right. I have the gem right here." She held up her fist, the grenade inside. "It was immoral of me to do so, so I think you should have it."She pulled the pin from the small bomb, chucking it to the ground at their feet. She saluted to them quickly, grinning and stepping back. "Enjoy your stay with Randy and Rory."

Lara grabbed hold of Nathan and Sully, said a quiet prayer, hoping the grenade wasn't shrapnel, as a wicked blast of white-hot light launched the three into the deadly ravine.

**Hey guys. I REALLY screwed up with chapter 1&2 by putting them in the same... uh… chapter. But it was my first time ever going on , so forgive me. I'd really appreciate tips for my writing. Is there cheesy dialogue? I have length issues… don't I? I love writing about the things going on in my head, and want to be a writer when I grow up, so I need some criticism! Good and bad is fine =) thx.**


	3. Trust

**Chapter 3 – Trust**

Nate found himself deep in the water, choking and gagging on every drop. He coughed, creating a mass of bubbles, and pushed from the muddy riverbed to the surface. He broke through it, quickly swallowed every bit of cold, damp air and coughed again, spitting out the mucky water, and noticing that the crocodiles have left their position on the shore. He was pulled back under by the violent current, and was forced down the stream, barely able to catch a breath of air every 30 seconds.

Nate felt something – a hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him back, and found the woman from earlier – Lara. He took notice of her fine features; chestnut brown eyes and full, thick lips. Swirling around her was a long maroon braid that highlighted her long brown eyelashes and added a dark edge to her lips.

Lara tugged at his arm, but they both found that Nate's feet were stuck in the mud, and they began to panic. Lara pulled harder; so hard that bubbles were being blown from her nose rapidly, letting out precious air. Nate's own oxygen supply was running dangerously low, and he couldn't allow staying in the water for more than 15 seconds now. Lara gritted her teeth, clamped her hands around his forearms and pressed her feet down into the sand with all of her might. Hundreds of air bubbles flew out of her mouth and nose, and then, after what seemed like hours of labour and wasted strength and stamina, Nate's shoes burst from the mud, and he swam to the surface.

He swallowed as much air that could fit in his lungs, and then, noticing that Lara was no longer with him, he dove under once more.

Lara was struggling to pry her boots from the sticky mud, her face red from lack of oxygen and so much force being applied to her legs. Nate gripped onto her right shin, jerking it out, while Lara desperately dug layers of mud surrounding her left foot. Her face became purpler than ever, and Nate worked more quickly, yanking at the boot, and it came free. Just when he turned to help Lara with her left foot, he felt her hands clutching onto his shoulders. Their eyes met – chestnut brown and olive green, and she shook him desperately, she last of her air supply wasted in a single simple word. Help.

Nate, determined to make the woman before him breath once more, gripped her waist and yanked her out of the sludge in a single, bizarre movement. He was surprised when he noticed this shot of adrenaline, but didn't ponder the thought much without going to the surface first.

The temped jungle rain welcomed Nate's skin like a toddler's soft blanket, and he briefly embraced the warm feeling before continuing toward the shore. He better adjusted his grip on Lara's small body, fitting his arms just below her bra line. He tried to feel a heartbeat, or a breathing pattern, but her chest was empty. Not a pulse. Not a single breath. Nothing.

With one arm around Lara and the other paddling his to the shore, he stretched out his arm and caught a fern's leaf, and attempted to pull them both up and out of the water. He placed the woman onto the grassy terrain and pulled himself out, dripping wet, and he tugged Lara up a large slope until she was safely at the top. He coughed, and remembered Sully. Where was he? Was he eaten by crocodiles, or did the blast kill him? Sully....

He turned to Lara, touching her neck, searching; waiting for a pulse. Nothing. Emptiness. Raw emptiness consumed them both. How could he let her die? He was a monster. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Nathan Drake, a man of charisma, determination and cunning, wouldn't let this woman die. He wouldn't let Sully die, either.

Nate stared down upon her unconscious body. He vaguely remembered C.P.R. from high school and multiple movies he had watched over the years, but this was the real thing. Damn it. He shunned himself for not going into law school.

He layered his hands, one over the other, and pressed down between her breasts. He pushed down on her lungs with his palms, hopefully compressing the water out of them, and he eventually heard her cough.

Amazed at his progress, he continued to push down on her chest, and soon, with rasping, troubled breaths escaping and entering her lips, he knew what to do next. It's what happened in the movies, anyway.

Nate pinched Lara's nose, opened his mouth and pressed it against hers. He blew in every bit of air from his lungs into hers, and came up for a breath. He did it once more, and then, after a number of dry coughs and sputters, they both rested, and Nate knew that he had saved this girl's life.

Lara had trouble opening her eyes when she realized that she was alive. She felt the sensation of cool rain on her skin, and the feeling of a heartbeat, and the bliss of realization. Eventually, her eyes opened completely, and she was able to sit up and examine her surroundings.

"What the—" she murmured. "Nathan? Sully?"

"AARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"JESUS CHRIST!"

"DAMN IT THAT FU— ARRRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

"What the—?" Lara wondered, pushing up from the soft earth. She snuck through the forest until she heard a low hiss and moans of pain, and then...

_BAM! BAM!_

Lara hurried until she was at the river's edge once more, and she caught site of Sully in a small pool of blood and Nathan wrestling a crocodile.

A lot of girls would scream at Sully's gore, or be purely love-struck by Nathan's strength, or even cowardly run back into the jungle to their doom. A lot of girls would frown, or cry, or jump back into the river to escape everything. Lara Croft was not another girl. First she smiled, and then chuckled softly, then collapsed to the ground laughing her arse off. She giggled and chortled and sniggered until her lungs were raw and her stomach was drowning in pain.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!!" she cried, laughing still. "AAHAHHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!! AAAAAAHHAAAAAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!!!!!!!! You g-guys are s-such— AHAAHAA—m-m-monkeys!!" Her face turned red then, and she balled up like a bug and clutched her stomach, rolling around on the ground like a monkey herself.

"Lara?" Nathan asked, surprised by her outburst of rapture. "A little help?!"

"I-I-I—AHHHHHAAAAAHAHAHAHHAAAA..... OHHHHH GOSH! HA HA! HAA HAAHAHAA!!!!!!"

"Damn it! HELP ME!!!!" Nathan begged, ringing his arms around the croc's neck. "LARA!"

"I-I-I" Lara stuttered, regaining her balance. "I'm coming, really...." She snorted and chortled a few more times while making her way over to him, and found 5 bullet holes in the crocodile's leathery skin. "What have you done to this poor bugger?!"Lara exclaimed, her laughter completely gone. "I've killed my fair share of animals, but there's no reason to keep this guy in never-ending pain." She found the gun that Nathan used earlier and positioned it right at its brain. She pulled the trigger, and the beast went limp.

"Poor old croc. All he wanted was dinner." She looked up Nathan. "Shall we go help the old guy?"

"I have a name, ya know." Sully complained.

Lara grinned, turning to him. "Well, I can't for the life of me remember what it is. Now shut up before I rip off your penis and stuff all the things you never want to see up your vagina."

Both of the men stared wide-eyed at Lara, but she just giggled and reached into her pack to get the bandages.

That evening, they trekked deep into the forest without speaking a single word to each other.

About half a mile from the river was a small village that had a phone, and even better, they were friendly. They let them stay for the night, and they could leave first thing in the morning.

They ate a lama and bean stew, which was actually pretty good. The lama tasted a lot like buffalo, and the beans were spicy and settled nicely in Lara's stomach.

They all drank as much as they could, for they would need it encase they had to walk some more. That night, when the villagers had gone into their huts to sleep, Sully, Nate (he asked that Lara call him that) and Lara sat around at the campfire and told stories of their lives.

"And _that_," Sully finished. "Is why you _never_ take a Jamaican hooker into the U.S. and say she's from Africa."

"Great story, Sully," Nate said with a chuckle. "Any tales, Lara?"

Lara looked at both of the men.

Trust.

They weren't mercenaries, and Nate saved her life, so could they we trusted? She didn't know them for more than 24 hours and already she had developed a brother-sister bond with both of them. They were just so lovable—but she knew better than to trust people she didn't know.

Lara pursed her lips together.

"I wouldn't know where to start." she said, leaning back.

"Oh come on, Lara. Just one," Nate urged.

"Well...."

"And then—" she said, pausing for dramatic effect, holding up her hands. "Out from under the broken bridge, and you're not going to believe this, came the King. The deadliest animal known to man: a T-rex."

"You're lying." Nate said, his eyes bulging out of his head.

"Hey," Lara said. "It took me a long to figure this out, but anything is possible in this world. Anything."

"Well?" asked Sully. "What happened next?"

"Did I mention its eyes?" Lara continued. "They were yellow—like amber, and it had a huge, green, scaly hide. I drew my pistols and took aim at the beast, and took him down." Lara touched her back in memory. "I had to visit the chiropractor because of all the fancy flips I had to do. I wasn't as fit as I am today, of course, and that was a trip to Peru I'll never forget."

"That's amazing." Nate whispered to her, struck with awe. "You've seriously seen everything, huh? Every sight, every view, every tomb...."

"Not _everything_." Lara said to him. "I'm just trying to make the best of my life, and do what I love."

"You're a true inspiration, Lara." Nate told her, grinning. "Really,"

"Well, I see a future for you, kiddo. You're destined to do great things."

"Ha!" Sully grunted. "He already has!"

Lara smiled. "Then don't stop. Looks like I have some work cut out for me." She yawned, getting up from the dirt. "I'm heading off to bed. See you in the morning."

"Wait, Lara."

She turned, and found Nate rifling through his backpack. She raised an eyebrow, and gasped when he pulled out a shimmering gold flask. It was a fair size, and a perfect cylinder, but there were some flat dimensions it. She was mesmerized by how it glowed—by how it shone in the blackness.

"Where did you get that?!" she nearly exclaimed.

"Me and Sully found it in the Temple of Azure on a small Island off of Crete. Finding it was harder than you can imagine."

"Ugh," groaned Sully. "Tell me about it."

Lara grimaced at the men. "Why didn't you tell me about it?!"

"Well," stuttered Nate. "How did we know that you could be trusted?"

"Yeah? And what if I still can't be trusted?"

"Please." Nate rolled his eyes. "You're too soft for that."

"What?" said Lara in a low, deadly voice. Who was he calling soft? What a jackarse! She'd show him. Oh, yes she would.

And with one last grinding of her teeth, she went to bed without another word to them. They could rot in the jungle, for all she cared. Soft. HA!

Nate awoke to the blinding sunlight the next day, sleepy and ridden with ache from the hard ground he had to sleep on. He sat up, wiping the dirt from his face, and looked around. Next to him was Sully, a deep snore flowing from his core, and on the other side of him was... Nothing.

He wrinkled his forehead, confused, and got up, exiting the small hut. He saw the mountains off in the distance, and the villagers getting up and making breakfast, but no sign of Lara.

"Croft?" he yelled. "Lara?!"

The natives stared at him, but he just went back inside. He searched for footprints, but there was no sign of her anywhere. Then something struck him: a dreadful thought.

Nate hurried over to his bag and unzipped it, and dug his hands inside.

Lara smiled at the chalice of ancients, finding her own deep brown eyes reflecting off of the shimmering gold. She traced her finger along the designs caved into it. There were five slots, one of them filled with a beautiful azure sapphire, and in each slot was an animal. Lara removed the sapphire and examined the animal on it. A peacock. She stared into the slot. A peacock. Well, that was simple enough. She searched for the indent with the picture of the mountain lion and pushed the emerald in. There was a bright green flash of light that shone from the flask, and Lara tore her eyes away from the luminescence, and when she gazed at it once more, there was a new design on the outside. Directions. She placed in the sapphire, and the images on the flask changed again. Directions. She smiled to herself, recognizing the castle illustrated on the artefact.

"Germany it is."


	4. Escape

**Chapter 4 – Escape**

Nate and Sully dashed through the Peruvian jungle, past the squawking birds and rustling trees, across streams both calm and violent, and leaping over gaps they both feared they'd never make.

"Are you sure she went this way?" Sully panted, his pace slowing.

"Positive," Nate replied quickly, ducking under a fallen tree and continuing onward. "I can see her boot prints in the mud."

"Why even _bother_?" Sully demanded, stopping and resting on an old log.

"Damn it, Sullivan, she took my chalice!" Nate snapped, urging him upward.

"Kid, I'm tired." Sully sighed, his forehead dropping to his knees. "You know I'm not young anymore."

"What? You're fine, Sully! You're as healthy as.... as...."

"A hooker with no diseases?" Sully finished for him.

Nate grimaced. "How in God's name is that healthy?"

"Let's just get moving." Sully grunted, wiping the dirt from his bowling shirt and straightening the collar.

Nate shrugged and grasped his hand, heaving the old man to his feet. He nudged Sully's shoulder with his fist. "Let's get going. We can't let Britain beat America."

"You're damn straight we can't, kid!" Sully bellowed.

And the two set out once more.

Lara jogged down the frail wooden dock, past the tied-up rowboats and rusty old sail boats. She stopped, out of breath from so much hiking and running, and tried to figure out how to get out of Peru. There were two places what she could go: from England to America, or from America to England. Either was fine (though she wanted to get home relatively soon). She raced up to a fisherman, and asked for his help, but she soon found out that he didn't know English. No problem. Spanish was a synch for her.

"Are there any ships here that are headed for Europe?" she asked him, her accent flawless and grammar perfect.

"Europe?" he asked her, confused. He scratched his head, thinking. "Not that I know of. But there's a huge cargo ship parting for the U.S. in about an hour or so." He looked to the horizon, and pointed. "See? There it is now. Getting on shouldn't be so easy, though. Do you have money?"

Lara frowned. "Money? Well.... Not for this country in particular." she told him quietly.

"Then you'll have to sneak in. There's a spare room somewhere near the rear. You may be able to get in there."

Lara nodded slowly, understanding. "You won't tell, will you?"

He beamed at her, a mischievous look dancing in his glossy brown eyes. "Not a soul, miss."

She smiled at him, kissed his cheek and jogged down to the beach to draw out a plan and relax for a while until the ship arrived.

Lara sighed, soaking up the afternoon sun, watching as men in large numbers dragged huge containers of fish, fruit and wood onto the ship. It was probably one of the oddest modes of transportation she'd ever seen. It was something like a regular old cargo boat and an old-timey pirate ship in one. Was the person that designed it high? The thing had ratlines and sails for goodness sake!

She sat there, reviewing her plan in her mind, completely unaware of the two that were hiding in the bushes directly behind her. She craned her neck back, letting her face and the rays of the golden sun meet, as two hands reached out toward her stomach....

Nate stretched his arms out, wrapping one around Lara's neck and the other around her belly, securing her arms to his chest, and pulled her to the brush. She struggled, attempting to kick his and wriggle out of his grip, so he had Sully pin down her legs.

"Quiet, quiet! Shh...." Nate pleaded. "It's me!"

"You think I don't know that?" Lara spat, snapping her teeth at his arms like a rabid dog. "Now let me GO!"

Nate slid his 45. Defender from his holster and pressed the tip into Lara's temple, pulling back the hammer.

Lara eyed it carefully, and then drifted her gaze towards his. They glared at each other for a moment, but neither gave up the ruthless staring contest, as both struggled for dominance over the other.

"I have a boat to catch, gentlemen." Lara said suddenly, still not looking away from Nate's green eyes. "And I don't intend on you two screwing up my timing."

"Oh, no," Nate pressed the gun into her skull harshly. "We've worked too hard tracking you down. We're _going_ to get the other stones."

"Well," Lara grit her teeth in frustration. "What if I don't want to tell you where it is?"

"Well," Nate replied in a sarcastic, mirroring voice. "What if I blow your brains out?"

"Easier said than done, my friend," Lara said with a smirk. "You don't have the guts."

"Don't toy with me." Nate growled.

"Speaking of toying," Lara directed her glare to Sully, who she caught rubbing her calves.

"Damn that's smooth." he murmured under his breath.

Lara rolled her eyes, smacking the toes of her boot right into his nose. She twisted her body around, and Nate went flying sideways. He sat up quickly, aiming his gun right between her eyes, but when he tried to pull the trigger, he found that it was stuck. He tested it quickly at a tree, and it blasted the wood right apart, but when he tried once again at Lara, it wouldn't work. _He_ wouldn't work.

"Good day, boys," Lara said, saluting once again and running off to the dock.

"Sully, get up!" he cried, jumping up and leaping over the bushes.

What was he doing? Why couldn't he shoot? Was the gun malfunctioning? No.... It was him. _He _couldn't shoot the girl. But why?

Drake blindly fired at her feet as he ran after her, but she was faster than he thought, and she dashed down the dock. Nate followed, not far behind, but she stopped halfway down. Was she out of breath? Nate raced down, stopping to take in some air, and then he noticed her face. She was furious. No, more than furious. Pissed. _Pissed, _pissed.

"_You,"_ She curled her lip. "_YOU RUINED __**EVERYTHING!**_"

Nate took a few steps back, but her stiff fist smacked into his cheek and he stumbled back, crashing to the floor.

_**"YOU SELFISH BASTARD!" **_she screamed, drawing her pistol. Nate saw light all around him, but he felt his fingers move, and he found his chest. He felt no pain, and he knew he was alive. He blinked a few times, and found Lara, her gun still aimed at his forehead. Nate raised his hands, surrendering. Lara sighed, holstering the pistol, and staring into the horizon. Nate followed her gaze.

Now he knew why she was so pissed. The cargo boat was leaving, practically gone.

"That was my only chance to get to America." she whispered. She turned to him, frowning. "Get up." she snapped. "You look so worthless just lying there."

"Hey, hey, hey," Nate told her, getting up. "We'll just improvise."

"I had a _plan_." Lara growled. "It was foolproof."

"Yeah, yeah," Nate waved the comment away, something else on his mind. He jogged toward an old motorboat, and hopped in. Sully finally caught up with them, and jumped in with him.

"Are you _crazy_?" Lara asked them. "We'll never make it in that piece of crap!"

"Just get in, sunshine," Nate said, patting the seat beside him.

Lara sighed harshly, getting into the boat quickly.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"I was born ready." she told him. "Let's roll."

Sully pulled the chord in the back, and the engine revved to life, and the boat flew forward, pursuing the cargo ship.

Lara couldn't believe what she was doing. There she was, hitching a ride with tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber who she actually _trusted_ yesterday. Well, no more. She couldn't be so naive when it came to strange American men. Or were they Canadian? Nah, they weren't Canadian.

"Come on, Sully!" Lara exclaimed. "While we're still young? We've got to catch up with that thing!"

"Yeah, well, how are we even going to get up there?" he countered.

"The anchor shouldn't be fully pulled up yet. We have to hurry!" Lara said.

They flew across the waves, and eventually caught up with the boat. It truly was _massive_. They circled around to its side and found the anchor, still being pulled up.

"I'll go first." Lara said. "Will you two be alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Nate said. "I'll take care of Little Miss Powder Puff and make sure her shirt doesn't get dirty again."

Lara rolled her eyes and balanced herself on the boat's tip and leaped toward it. She caught it: barely. She grit her teeth and heaved an arm upward, gripping onto the rust and metal.

"You have to grab onto my feet," Lara called down to them. "Hurry!"

In a moment, she felt as though she gained a hundred pounds, and looked down to see Nate grasping onto her calves. She climbed, slowly, and she gained another hundred pounds just a minute later. She grunted, long and hard, and pulled herself up a little more. She waited, letting the men pull both the anchor and the three to the top, and when they were at the top, she wondered about what to do next.

"Keep climbing!" Nate urged her.

"Oh, sure. How easy that'll be!" she snapped back in an exhausted voice.

"Go!"

Sweat poured down Lara's face as she clambered up the hard, steel anchor, and it doused her turquoise tank top, dripping out of her hair. She was tired. Not tired of her adventures, though, but fatigued from so much climbing. She heaved her arm upward once more and grabbed the side of the boat, and she felt a whole lot better when Nate left go of her and climbed onto the anchor instead. Her arms throbbed, and begged her to release and fall into practical oblivion, but she wouldn't let herself do it.

_Almost there, _she thought.

Lara, Nate and Sully climbed into the boat, totally drained of their stamina, and dropped to the deck, weary and bleary eyed.

Lara tried to prop herself up with her elbow, but she just collapsed once again, her lips kissing the wood. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep, but she was dragged up suddenly, and pressed against a pillar of wood.

"Get your hands up!" ordered a harsh voice in Spanish.

Lara couldn't see a thing, but she attempted raising them anyway.

"What's he saying?" Sully said, fear choking him.

"I—" Lara whispered. "Can't.... any...m-m-more...." She dropped to her knees, pain engulfing every single muscle in her body, pinching and pressuring her until the world turned as black as ash.

Nate watched Lara as she collapsed to the deck, the crewmate pulling on her braid to get her to stand once more, but she didn't budge. Nate feared for a moment that she was dead, her muscles and bones falling apart by the core, and he gulped in anguish at the thought.

"Drop to your knees!" ordered the crewmate, aiming his firearms at them.

"What's he saying?" Sully murmured to Nate.

"Get to your knees, quick." Nate ordered quietly.

They followed the commands.

"Marcelo, get the captain!" the crewmate called, but by the time he finished his sentence, the captain was already there.

He was white, surprisingly, with tanned skin that's been exposed to the sun for so long. He was terribly dressed, like someone from _Survivor_, and looked as though a seagull or two had taken a dump on his bronze, handsome dark hair. He was young, but a few years older than Drake, and he had a little more than stubble growing on his chin. No, this man was growing a beard, and a big one too. Maybe the seagulls could nest in there. Ha-ha?

He strode toward Nate, and their deep green eyes met, neither welcoming nor happy. The captain squinted at him, and then he smirked, moving on to Sullivan. He eyed him carefully.

"You are far too old to be capturing ships, my friend." His voice was hard like his jaw, and his accent was tainted Russian, just like his breath reeked of his country's vodka. "Perhaps you should leave it to this young man and consider retiring."

Sully frowned, puckering out his bottom lip. "I'm not _that_ old." he pouted, as if a child of three instead of a man of.... well.... however old Sully is.

"Throw them overboard." the captain ordered his men in a brusque, defiant tone. "There're not in America anymore anyway."

"What about this one?" the crewmate from before asked, pointing at Lara's face with the tip of his gun.

The captain knit his eyebrows together, puzzled, and then something made him blink in surprise. His forehead wrinkled because his eyebrows were so high, and his eyes were so wide he couldn't be taken seriously as the tough, liquor guzzling captain of the huge vessel. The light that danced around in his dark eyes was familiar. It was realization.

"Release her." he ordered immediately. "Carefully,"

The deckhand, confused, merely shrugged and placed her on the wood gingerly. The captain raced over to her and bent down to her level.

"Lara?" he whispered. He placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her. "Croft? Lara, get up!"

Lara remained motionless.

"Get her to the spare room, now. Make sure she has blankets and that she has water. NOW!" he snapped to his crewmates in their language. "As for you two," He switched to English. "Get off of my boat."

"Wait!" Nate said quickly. "We're with her!"

"I'm sure." he spat on the ground in disgust. He started to close in on them, drawing a pistol from his pocket.

"Wait!" Nate shouted. "Do you really think that she'll react pleasantly when she finds out we've been eaten by sharks?"

"That depends, Mister...."

"Drake,"

"Mister Drake." he continued. "That depends on who you actually _are_ and how you relate to Lady Croft. What part do you have in her adventure?"

"Well," Sully said, scratching the back of his neck. "We are.... Uhhh.... _Assisting _Croft with the, um....."

"The finding of the last few gems," Nate finished.

"Gems?" the captain questioned. "What are you talking about, boy?"

Nate and Sully exchanged looks, worried, and Nate just shrugged, speechless.

"We don't really have a choice here, Nate." Sully told him. "Just spill it."

Lara dashed to the right, drawing her dual Uzis and pressing her fingers down on the triggers, the deadly bullets pounding against the enormous dragon's skull. It roared, pounding it's feet to the ground, and blew a deadly column of flame Lara's way. She jumped to the left, hoping to cause confusion, but the dragon was smarter than that.

She continued to fire while the dragon charged toward her, baring its razor-sharp teeth. Its mouth opened wider than she could ever imagine and clamped it around her small body. It threw her to the side, and she slid for a moment, trying to regain her balance, but she just lost consciousness.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she caught sight of the dragon with its shimmering tangerine skin and unforgiving amber eyes as something like an evil grin stretched across its face.

_Goodnight, Lara. _It cooed as fire and lava swarmed around her.

Lara screamed, lifting her hands as she watched her skin melt away into a little pool beside her. She began to cry in pain, her blood boiling and bones crumbling away into ash. She screamed once more, and everything burned away.

She jolted upward, finding herself not in the Dragon's Lair, but in a cool dark room in a warm, soft bed. She propped herself up on her elbow, stretching her legs, and wiping the goo from her eyes. She ripped the covers from her body and slowly got out of bed, careful not to lose her balance when she stood.

She shuffled to the door, yawning, and twisted the handle, noticing the long creak its hinges made when she opened it. She stepped out into the cold night air, which felt nice on her sweaty, glistening skin, and heard waves crashing gently against the side of the boat she was on.

She closed her eyes, breathing in the salty sea spray, and tried to remember what happened.

"_Get your hands up!".... "Lara? Croft? Lara, get up!"_

The voices that buzzed about in her head were familiar. She recognized them from her deep past: to the origins of how she came to be.

She walked down the stairs that led to the deck, wondering what happened, when she found a man leaning against the side of the boat, watching the waves roll by. Lara walked up to him, recognizing his large figure and long olive shirt that was rolled up to about his elbows. She joined him, and he turned to her with a surprised look on his face.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Nate asked her.

"Nightmare," Lara replied quietly. "And, well, I'm kind of wondering what the hell happened."

"Well, we spoke with the captain after you fainted and—"

"Hey, I did _not_ faint, Drake! I was exhausted from dragging you two bozos up a forty-foot anchor!"

"Okay, okay," he said, trying to quiet her down. "After you.... _fell unconscious_¸ we spoke with him. He seemed to know your face, like you've met before."

"What did he look like?" Lara asked him.

"Hmm...." He struggled to remember the feature's of the captain's face. "He was around my age, but 5 or so years older with a bit of a beard and a Russian accent. Brown hair and white, and not as tall as me. Do you know him?"

"Maybe...." Lara trailed off, thinking. She played with her long braid with her fingertips, curious as to whom the man was. Lara just shrugged in the end, and Nate sighed.

"What is it?" she asked him.

He chuckled. "You're so secretive. We don't know a thing about each other."

"Well, I'm not planning on telling you, Mister Drake."

"Oh, c'mon," Nate whined, poking her arm. "Just one thing?"

Lara grunted, glaring at him for his childish behaviour. "I'm British." she finally said.

"Oh, that's _sooo_ not fair!"

Lara smiled, laughing. "Okay, okay. Umm... I'm a famous archaeologist."

"Really?" Nate said, surprised. "I'd say that you're a grave robber."

Lara beamed at him. "Shh...." She pressed her finger to her lips. "Don't tell. It'll be our little secret." she told him with a wink.

Nate chuckled, and they spent the rest of the night silent, watching the calm waters.


	5. Ort der Sand

**Chapter 5 – Ort Der Sand**

Nate didn't remember much of the other night, other than Lara bidding him farewell as the sun began to rise, and then he fell asleep. Or did he? He really didn't think it was very possible to just collapse on the spot and snooze away, but he'd been wrong before.

He yawned, taking notice of the crewmates washing the deck and adjusting the sails, and stood, stretching his aching back. What had happened?

"Ah, Mister Drake." said a voice from behind him.

He jumped, whirling around on his heels, and found the captain behind him, an amused expression playing in his eyes.

"Ah, uh, morning, captain," Nate greeted awkwardly. "Have you happened to have seen Lara anywhere?"

"She is up in the cabin," the captain told him, pointing to the small room with a thin staircase spiralling to the ground. You don't see that very often on a ship. "Let her rest, Mister Drake. She is very weak at this point in her healing."

"I never said I was going to see her." Nate grumbled. When he caught the captain's eyes staring into his core intently, seeming to want something, Nate just sighed and murmured, "Sir." before the captain nodded, pleased, and passed him to examine his men's work.

Nate decided to explore the deck a bit and find Sully, so he began to walk casually, weaving in and out of poles and circle around the cargo containers. They were huge, stacked atop each other, many bright red and blue, and some even an ugly brown, the colour of muddy stingrays.

Nate squeezed between two of the containers, close to the main building, and noticed a hatch leading to the bottom of the ship. Curious, Nate unlatched it, peering into its dark and mysterious depths.

He wondered about what was in there. He dipped his foot down, and felt wooden stairs beneath his feet. With one more look around, he immersed himself into the darkness, the hatch closing behind him.

He couldn't see a thing in there. He raised his hands, trying to find them, but he may as well have been blind, because all he saw was black.

Slowly, he made his way down the stairs. With no railing or anything to hold on to, he had to do it gingerly. He planted his foot down where he expected the next step to be, but instead he lost his balance and tumbled down the staircase, each bump painful and throbbing. He finally smacked to the ground, groaning in pain, and mumbled, "Ah, crap, that hurt..."

He pushed his heavy body off of the ground, peering around the room, and noticed a tiny window letting in the smallest bit of light. He stood, shaking the ache away, and shuffled toward the small window, taking a look outside.

The sun was bright, but not blinding, and the glass was clouded with mould and sea salt.

Nate turned to face the rest of the room, and saw a large oak desk covered with thick documents and papers. He walked over and examined them. They were in a language he didn't know— Chinese or something— written in a thick, thick black ink with small drawings at the sides of the paper.

He saw many other things, like fragile artefacts and maps of masses of land he couldn't figure out. He found one map, however, with letters that he recognized. He squinted at the swirling lines, but couldn't read the words before him.

Ort der Sand

Disappointed, he pocketed the map as well as a few frail documents. Taking one last look around, he began making his way up the stairs, but stopped suddenly, taking another peek back. His eye caught the shinning color of white. No—not white. But it had that essence of pureness. He marveled at its beauty. He walked toward it, mesmerized, and saw it in its true beauty. It was a glistening crystal—a girl's best friend: a diamond. He picked it up.

It was about the size of a small plum, and it wasn't raw, either. He found a carving on a flat side of it: the carving of an eagle's head. He stared at it, his mouth open, and traced the lines that made the bird's face. He immediately connected with the carving, and he started to…. to….

Change.

He could feel himself losing height, and his body being carved in an odd way. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it was so strange. The hair on his arms and legs began to darken and lighten and increase in length. Soon they transformed into huge feathers, and when he tried to scream, all that came out was a rough "".

He dropped the stone immediately, cursing it, but the change was not complete. He felt his nose change—it suddenly became very solid and long, and he screamed again, snapping his beak. He was about to crush the stone with his shoe, but he was too surprised when he found a pair of talons instead feet.

He knew then what was becoming of him. But it was impossible.

_Anything in this world is possible._ Lara's words echoed through his mind.

No. He wouldn't believe it. She was probably making up every single word she said that night.

He made his way to the stairs, but stumbled when he realized that his legs weren't as long as they used to be.

Finally, after much pain, he made it to the top of the staircase, and immediately began banging the tip of his beak against the wooden hatch. He couldn't believe his words. _His beak._ He shivered.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of knocking, he saw one of the crewmembers, mop in hand, above him. Naturally, he was surprised.

Nate jumped from the top step to the deck and started maneuvering through the crates. He found himself getting very tired, even though he had hardly walked at all, and the he noticed his wings.

They were huge! They must have been at least 8 feet. Of course. He was a freaking bird now. He should at least learn to fly, right?

He stretched them out and flapped them once. His wings and feathers whacked into the ground, and he bounced up a foot or so. Wow. He examined his wings again, admiring the power. He flapped again, and again, and again, and soon he found himself high up in the air. He leaned forward toward one of the storage crates and flapped once more. He reached his destination, but he had no idea how to stop.

_WHAM_

He smacked right into the crate. He moaned in pain, which was yet another screech. He regained his balance and looked out at the deck. He saw many workers, and then, standing with Lara, was Sully and the captain.

Nate screeched at them, but their heads did not turn toward him. He leaped off of the metal container and glided toward them, narrowly avoiding sails and other miscellaneous objects—including people. He screeched again, and caught their attention.

All of them were startled by his appearance on the boat, but Lara gasped, as if she seemed to know that it was him. There was a moment of confusion, and then he felt it again: a tingling sensation throughout his body.

He was changing once more.

And as his wings were replaced with arms and his feathers disappeared, he lost his balance and was flung into the sea below, and with a final human scream and a desperate attempt to flap his arms, he crashed into the waves.

He awoke very wet and very cold, on the deck, surrounded by the crew, Sully, the captain and, of course, Lara.

"I suppose I don't need to repay you anymore." Lara said. She was also drenched and shivering. "Get up, Drake."

Nate pushed himself off of the ground, and he was lead upstairs at gunpoint by Lara into her room.

"You found another one, didn't you?" she growled once they were in private.

"Another what?"

"Don't be stupid with me, Drake. You found another gem."

Nate chuckled coolly. "You have no proof."

"You were a bloody eagle! That's proof enough."

"So?" he said, trying to sound smart. "It could have been some other kind of ancient ritual."

Lara rolled her eyes. "You sound like an idiot."

Nate frowned, his confidence significantly lower.

"Well, I don't have it." he said quietly.

"Well, you'll get what's coming to you, then."

Nate stared at her for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

Lara turned to her backpack on the night table and pulled out a long golden cylinder, two of the gems already in place.

Lara plucked the green one from its place and held it in her hands.

"Things happen when you misuse power…." she trailed off, and every one of her muscles clenched at the same time. A pair of black cat ears sprouted from her maroon hair, and her face began to change. Her nose squashed down and turned pink, and her large lips began one thin line that reached around her new muzzle. Her hands became strong, powerful paws, and a thick brown tail sprouted from her behind. She cried out, but it transformed into a murderous roar.

Then her chestnut-brown eyes shone through her _very_ cat-like figure, and he knew that that was his punishment. Lara began to stalk toward him, slowly, silently, and he filed backward quickly.

"Lara, this isn't funny." he said, trying to reason with her. "I mean, I'll apologize, I'll…."

Lara snarled, and Nate booked it out the door, leaped down seven steps and bolted toward the crates. He had a plan.

**Sorry this chapter's late. I'll get started right away on 6 though =)**


	6. Long Lost Enemies

**Chapter 6 – Long Lost Enemies**

Stupid little man.

He was unbelievable; an inconsiderate jerk. He was obviously very inexperienced when it came to treasure hunting, and he just _couldn't _tell Lara when he found another gem. Damn, damn, damn! He could have ruined everything. Lara had nearly split the world in two when she tampered with foreign objects.

Maybe she was going too far… After all, he didn't know about the radical power the gems held.

No. He deserves what's coming to him.

Lara smiled to herself.

As the old saying went, "Too late for abortions now"!

She crashed through the large window of her cabin and landed hard on the deck, though she barely grunted. Looking to her left, she spotted the captain and Sully screaming and filing backwards rapidly.

She turned her head to face forward, and she caught Drake running across the deck, headed for some storage crates. She bolted after him.

Even though he was sprinting as fast he could, his speed was no match for Lara's. Finally, she caught up to him, and she lunged at him, her thick claws ready to tear him apart….

Nate, in the spur of the moment, squeezed between who of the steel crates, and Lara whacked into the metal, and fell to the deck.

Ache was all that was on her mind when she rose once more, and then she thought about Nate, and she felt angered again. But when she looked down, she saw human hands, and she knew that she had wasted too much time.

Frustration bubbled up inside her.

"DRAKE…." she growled. "I'LL FIND YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

She got to her feet in a flash and dashed through the crates, weaving through them clumsily. Lara drew her duals, and she suddenly went into…. _the mode._

She didn't tell very many people about the mode because she liked to keep it to herself. Whenever she drew her guns, she went into the mode. Her back straightened, her eyes narrowed, her ears were on maximum alert, and her muscles tensed. She was quiet, still, and stealthy.

She stopped where she was, and waited, listening for a sound: some kind of clue as to where Drake was.

She closed her eyes, relaxing her mind.

What could she hear…. waves…. her own breathing…. and then, behind her, she heard shoes clanking against metal.

She whirled around and fired her pistol, and saw Nate, a bullet hole dug into one of the crates next to his head, and then she caught him retreating behind a few more containers.

Lara bolted after him, sharply turning every corner, her blood pulsing through her veins. Then she saw him once more, and she aimed one of her pistols right at his head. There was no way he could have escaped from her line of fire. She readied her index finger to press down on the trigger.

1, 2, 3…. Now.

But then, deep within her, a voice told her not to shoot. She tried to defy the voice, but she couldn't pull the trigger. Suddenly, she didn't have the _will_.

She then forgot why she was so angry, and lowered her pistols.

Talk about PMS. She needed to calm down.

_I may as well go and find him,_ she thought to herself.

Eventually, she tracked him down, and found his shoes by a hatch in the ground. Well _that _wasobvious enough.

She holstered her pistols and made her way toward the hatch. She eyed it carefully. Nate was definitely down there, she knew that, and the shoes were supposed to grab her attention, but still…. Something wasn't right….

Lara opened the hatched and peered down into its depths. It was exceptionally dark, and she didn't trust what was down there. There was probably a bear trap set up down there or something, so she decided not to go down.

But then, as she was standing up, there was an incredible force pushing her from behind, and she tumbled down into the dark hole. She banged painfully down a staircase leading her down into the hole's dark depths, and then she finally hit the floor…. hard. She was facedown, and in tones of pain, but she wobbly got to her feet anyway. That was how she was trained: never just lie vulnerably on the ground. It's a recipe for disaster.

She noticed a large oak desk with many papers and documents laid across it, as well as a moldy old window in the corner of the room. But she didn't want to look at the papers just yet. She wanted to get back out.

She clambered up the stairs, eventually reaching the top, and she began thundering against the wood. She knew who the culprit was.

"DRRRAAAKKEEEEEEEE!"

Lara heard two knocks on the hatch. "Mmmmm-yellow?"

"DRAKE," Lara hissed. "YOU LITTLE—"

"Ya know, I'd love to talk, but I've got a lot to do, so, bye."

"WAIT!" Lara cried. "Wait, wait a minute. I'm not mad anymore, really."

"Oh, really?" Nate asked. "And how can I be sure?"

"I won't kill you. I promise."

"Lara, Lara, Lara. I don't know how gullible you think I am, but I sure as hell am _not_ going to let you out. Now _that's_ a promise."

"DRAKE!" Lara screamed, drawing one of her pistols. She shot at the wood, and she heard Nate back away.

"I think I'm just gonna leave you here, Lara. You need some time to cool off."

She heard him start to walk away.

"DRAKE! IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU YOU'LL LET ME OUT THIS INSTANT! DRAKE? DAMN IT!" Lara thrust her boot painfully into the wood in frustration. "You little donkey schlong!" she yelled once more. "Knob-jockey." she mumbled under her breath. She trotted down the stairs. She didn't want to admit it, but Nate was right. She needed to cool down. Every person has woken up filled with angst at least once in their lives. Perhaps Lara was just having a bad day. But what might have caused it?

Then she recalled the nightmare about the dragon she had confronted a few years ago. She thought about it. What bothered her most about it…?

She visualized its scaly green hide, its razor-sharp white teeth….

And then she knew. It was its eyes. They were yellow, like amber. She thought about the campfire stories with Sully and Drake. Her story about the T-rex…. It sent chills down her spine. It was its eyes… those unforgiving, amber eyes.

Amber.

A thought struck her.

"Amber…" she said aloud. Could it be?

A striking glowing light caught her eye then, and she turned toward it, curious, and started towards it. It was a diamond, sparkling in the dimly lit room, on the hard wooden floor. She bent down and picked it up, ogling its beauty. Within it, hundreds of crystals were trapped inside the marvelous casing. She'd never seen anything like it.

Lara immediately dropped the diamond suddenly, shunning herself for being sucked into its beauty. If she held it for too long, then she'd turn into what Nate turned into. She took a deep breath, trying not to think about the gem at her feet, and distracted herself with the table covered in documents.

She stared at a page that caught her eye.

I was obviously very old, its thick, faint ink and browning pages giving that factor away, and it was in a language other than English. An ancient language that she did not recognize. And then, at the corner of the table, she spotted a smaller page, written in a language that she actually recognized. German. She eagerly read it, translating it into English aloud.

_"My dearest love, I bring this to you, as a gift from the great land of sand."_ Lara glanced at the diamond on the floor, and then continued to read. _"Only your beauty is superior to this jewel's, and in our marvelous castle Lichtenstein, we shall be wed, and this sparkling diamond will be the heart of your golden ring. We will rule our homeland together, my love, in perfect, peaceful harmony."_

Lara raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that eliminates my trip to Germany." she said to herself. "But what's this doing here?"She picked up the diamond, and suddenly, an idea struck her. She eyed the moldy window in the corner of the room and smiled. She drew a pistol and shot the glass out, and gripped the glowing diamond in her hands.

"Here goes nothing…." she said, a tingling sensation running down her spine. White and chocolate brown feathers began to sprout all over her arms and body. Her long braid melted away, and her bones began to dissolve away and re-harden, newly fashioned. Her flesh burned as it was forced together, and her eyes drifted away from the center of her face to the sides of her head. And then, everything was silent, and she heard the diamond clanking to the floor. She opened her closed eyes and was startled to be able to see both sides of the room. Her pupils twitched toward the gem. She reached out one of her talons and clutched onto it. She spread out her wings, and was amazed at how powerful hey looked. She flapped them, and she bounced up into the air. Quickly, she flapped once more, and she went even higher into the air. She leaned forward and flapped toward the window, and then, when she got close enough, she glued her wings to her sides and squeezed through the gap.

Lara's new senses picked up everything. When she peered down, she could spy fish swimming about and could hear them splashing in and out of the water. They looked quite appetizing, but Lara wasn't there to lose track. She continued toward the top of the boat clumsily, because she knew that she had very little time.

She soared above the boat wobbly, searching for any sign of Nate, and then she spotted him, leaning against the side of the boat, chatting with Sully.

Her new wings unsteady, she glided down towards them, trying to be discrete, but then, suddenly, she began to change….

As quickly as she could, she swooped down towards them. They didn't even look up as she plunged towards the ocean. Thinking quickly, Lara flipped in mid-air, so that she was falling feet-first, and stretched out her arms, reaching to the edge of the boat.

Painfully, she gripped onto the side, just behind where Sully and Nate were. They turned around immediately, gazing over the edge of the ship, and stared, wide-eyed, at Lara Croft. Smiling broadly, she pulled herself up onto the boat.

"Hello, boys." she said quietly, her smile fading away quickly.

"Well, well," said Drake, eyeing her carefully. "Look who made it out of the spare room."

Lara jeered at him, her eyebrows edging toward each other. "You bastard." she said to him quietly. "You locked me away down there. You left me to rot like a diseased rat—!"

"You're being dramatic." Nate told her quickly, cutting off her words.

"Am I?" she yelled, taking a few steps forward.

Nate didn't back away, but closed in on her, so that they were face to face—almost, for Lara was a head shorter than him—sneering at each other.

They glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, solid brown eyes versus cold green ones, and Sully then tried to separate the two.

"Look, get the hell away from each other." he growled, stepping between them. "When you're in the same room as each other, it's like putting fire and gunpowder together."

"Out of my way, old man," Lara hissed, shoving him aside. Nate wouldn't have any of it. He brought up his fist, smacking Lara in her right cheek.

A burning rage bubbled up inside of her, from head to toe; she felt a deep, deep hatred towards Drake—and herself. The happiness that they shared around the campfire was long gone, and, if she could, she would go back in time and smack the Lara who thought she could trust them.

Raising her head and breathing deeply, she looked him in the eyes once more. She had never been more disgusted in her entire life. She spat in his face, her saliva splattered and dripping down the side of his face. His eyes closed, he wiped off the spit in his sleeve and continued to glare at Lara.

Lara, ignoring the searing pain on her cheek, knew that it was his move coming up, but she remained still and quiet, waiting.

But nothing came.

Lara turned, muttered about stupid Americans and walked off to her room, which was now torn apart from her transformation. As she walked, she noticed a bulge in her pocket, and when she investigated it, she pulled out the diamond. She smiled at it, even though it hurt her cheek immensely, and then she stowed it away so that she wouldn't turn into the eagle yet again.

Drake was not happy.

As a matter of fact, he was furious with Lara. Whenever the thought of her crossed her mind, he gagged. She was just so…. so…. _Sarcastic_, and she obviously had to have everything her way 24/7. And she acted as though he was always wrong and she was always right. It made him sick.

The two did not speak to each other for days after that, and whenever they saw each other on deck, they glared at each other and muttered nasty cusses as they made their way away from each other.

**Hi guys. I hope you're enjoying all the quarrelling, because there's plenty more in store! =) Just in case you haven't figured it out or you're confused about the point in time in which these events have happened, it's before Uncharted, Drake's Fortune and after Tomb Raider… Mmm…. 2 or so. So they're both very inexperienced but thrive on adventures. Hopefully, they'll fight their way to the end of this great adventure together. =) Enjoy!**


	7. A Nightmarish Past

**Chapter 7 – A Nightmarish Past**

**Enjoy this chapter, guys! It's got a lot going on, but bear with me. It'll get less confusing chapter by chapter. Oh, and it was silly of me to say that this took place after TR 2. I meant to say TR 3. Otherwise, where would Tony have come from? Anyway, get ready to read! Warning: Gore and blood in this chapter and quite a few to come. I understand that this is sudden. It'll all make sense soon- I hope.**

The captain shut the door closed, locking it quickly. He turned around, his lips twitching into a weak smile.

"Perhaps you should sit down, Miss Croft."

Lara raised an eyebrow, flopped into an old maroon office chair and lifted her feet up and onto a large desk, where the captain sat on the other side.

"Manners, Lara."

"You will refer to me as "Miss Croft", captain." Lara said in a hard, icy voice.

The captain glared at her, and then his expression softened.

"Guess how old I am, Miss Croft."

Lara hesitated before answering.

"Thirty-four." she said to him, being generous.

He chuckled.

"What?" Lara said, her eyebrows knitting together. "Am I wrong?"

"Not by much," the captain said, caressing his stubble. "I turn twenty-nine next year."

"Oh," Lara said, surprised. "You're older than you look, then."

"Mmm…" he said, gazing off through a window and out at the ocean. He turned back to Lara momentarily. "I'm a year older than you, Miss Croft."

"Hmm. Interesting," Lara mumbled, totally uninterested.

"You attended Wimbledon High School, did you not?" he asked her quietly.

Lara's eyes widened. "I don't see what that has to do with anything; it was an all girl's school—"

The captain pulled open a squeaky drawer then, cutting off Lara's words. He pulled out what looked like a photograph and tossed it over to her.

Lara stared at the picture, which was face-down.

"Look at it." the captain said, turning away to look out the window again.

She turned it over, and gasped. It was a picture of a girl, with Lara's face, lips, nose and… well, everything. She had two long pigtails sprouting out of the sides of her head and a wide, wide smile and sparkling brown eyes. Lara realized that this girl was her about fifteen years ago. Around her arm was a boy, slightly taller than her, with a thin face and awkward smile, but his green eyes told her that he was happy. In the background of the picture, there was a familiar hat poking out of the crowd.

"Von Croy!" she exclaimed. A painful memory struck her then. Angkor Wat…. the Iris.

"I met when you and Von Croy were traveling across Asia. I ran away from my home and was working in a fish market off of the coast of China. And then, after just a week of wondrous fun, you left and we never saw each other again." He looked up at Lara with glossy eyes. "I remember after I got off of a hard day of work, and you were there, by the sea, in tan shorts and vest with a white shirt underneath. You looked beautiful." He looked down at knees, his eyes closed, and then after a short while, his eyes met Lara's once more. "And you pressed your soft lips against mine, Lara," The captain stood very suddenly and loudly, knocking the chair behind him over. Lara stayed still and silent. "And it just felt right! Everything felt right that night!" he yelled.

"Captain," Lara said calmly. "You're making this all look like some kind of drama film."

"YOU LEFT—" The captain rushed towards her, a fire burning in his eyes.

Lara drew her pistol, her eyes as cold and unemotional as ever. "That'll do, captain." she told him, arising from her seat. "Goodbye."

"Wait!" shouted the captain, blocking the door. "Say my name!"

"What?"

"You heard!"

Lara didn't put away her pistol, but she sighed heavily.

"Say it!"

"I don't know it." Lara said simply.

"But you do he said, slowly making his way toward her. "You do, Lara!"

"_Miss Croft._" Lara corrected him bitterly.

At this, the captain seemed to calm a bit, but the fire in his eyes still blazed.

There was silence for a while.

"What's happened to you?" he asked. "I remember you well, Lara. I remember when you used to smile brightly, and have fun and love life more." He turned around, putting his hands on the table and staring out at the ocean again. "We'll be docking this afternoon. You will call me Captain Vladkof for the rest of the day. Leave now."

Lara holstered her gun and left quietly without another word, pity in the bottom of her stomach.

"Kid, we need her."

"No, we don't." Nate hissed, staring at the language. "Ort der Sand…. Ort der Sand…."

"What if she knows what it means, Nate?" Sully grunted, examining the paper from over Nate's shoulder.

Nate chewed on his bottom lip, concentrating still. "Do you think its French? I do."

"Nate, just ask her." Sully moaned in aggravation.

"No." Nate replied simply. "Maybe "sand" just means regular sand. What about "ort", though? Ort, Ort, Ort…."

"Look, Nate, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." Sully mumbled, leaning toward his ear, taking a lit cigar from his mouth. "Some brilliant man made this crap up. I know it might not be easy, but all you have to say is, "I was wrong, I'm sorry"."

"No shit, Sherlock." Nate retorted. "Everyone knows that."

"Then why don't you get over there and do it?" he bellowed.

"Easy, Sully!"

"No!" Sully snatched the document from Nate's grasp.

"Hey!"

Sully almost ran across the deck towards Lara Croft exiting the captain's cabin. Nate ran after him, but he was too late by the time he caught up to Sully.

"What do you want?" Lara asked in a tired, exasperated voice.

"We just thought that, well, maybe you could help us out." Sully told her in a confident voice.

"In what world?" Lara retorted spitefully.

Sully held up the document, which Lara's eyes widened at. She took it out of his hand and began reading it furiously.

"Ort der Sand! I knew there must have been another page! Look at this," Lara pulled another page from her pocket. It was small like the document Nate had, with a familiar inky scribble. Lara began to read the page that she took from her pocket.

_"My dearest love, I bring this to you, as a gift from the great land of sand.—_Ort der Sand— _Only your beauty is superior to this jewel's, and in our marvelous castle Lichtenstein, we shall be wed, and this sparkling diamond will be the heart of your golden ring. We will rule our homeland together, my love, in perfect, peaceful harmony." _Lara set aside her paper and began reading Nate's. "_My dearest love, this is the last letter you will receive from me. Many men have died because of this cursed gem. They have become giant birds, and flown out to sea, in a desperate attempt to find land. I am afraid that you will have to find another diamond, and another groom, because a great evil has risen throughout this ship, and I am afraid that it will tear through our kingdom and rein havoc upon our land. Keep safe, my love, and do not—"_ Lara stopped, looking up at Drake and Sully.

"Do not what?" Sully asked eagerly.

"It doesn't say." Lara whispered, touching the page. "See this?" she asked, pointing at a stain that Sully and Nate thought to be ink. "It's blood."

Sully and Drake exchanged nervous looks.

"Wait a minute…" Lara said. "Why am I telling you this? Wait, WAIT! I'm _SO STUPID! _Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The chalice!" Lara nearly screamed, tucking away both Nate's and her's away. "It gives direction to another gem whenever another is placed in. I don't know why it told me to go to Germany when I put the emerald in, though…. Perhaps it thought that this German king made it to Lichtenstein and kept it there, but then he must have tricked it… But how is that possible? And how did it come onto this ship?"

"Wha?" Sully blurted out, confused.

But Nate got it.

"We have the chalice." he said to Lara. "But I'm putting the gem in."

"Fine. Where is it?"

"In our sleeping quarters," Nate told her, turning toward and staircase that lead down into the ship's depths.

"Sleeping quarters? I just assumed that you slept on the deck."

"Oh, _ha-ha_," Nate growled.

Nate lead them down into an old room with a musty smell to it. Nate wrinkled his nose, and was thankful that he didn't have to spend another night in the room. He climbed onto his bunk and pulled out the glimmering gold flask.

Lara pulled the diamond from her pocket and tossed it to Drake, who caught it and slid off of his bunk, searching for the slot with an eagle on it. He found it a few seconds later, and then, watching as Sully and Lara closed in on his left and right side, eagerly awaiting him to slide it into place, he pushed the gem into the slot, and watched the magic happen.

There was a hot, white light that burned his eyes and skin, as if he was just in the middle of an explosion, but the pain and light was gone almost as fast as it had started. He opened his shut eyes and stared at the chalice. It didn't seem to have changed much, other than a new gem clung to the outer gold, but then he noticed a new design etched into the flask.

"I know where this is…." Nate whispered, touching the chalice.

"What? You do?" Sully asked him, his eyes blank.

"Yeah…." Nate timidly touched the directions. He felt his heart beginning to sink suddenly, and he felt claustrophobic. He took unsteady, quick breaths, trying to get a hold of some oxygen, but none would enter his lungs. He dropped the chalice, wringing his hands around his neck. He collapsed to the ground, his face red. A flow of air was immediately delivered to him, but he would not move. He could not move. The world swirled around him. The faces of Lara and Sully swum up above him. He felt himself shrink down to the size of an ant, and everything melted away.

"Nate! Nate, can you hear me?" Sully cried, shaking Nate with much force.

"Stop that!" Lara snapped, lifting Nate's head up onto her lap. She brushed sweat-doused hair from his face and examined his condition. "He's unconscious." she finally stated.

"What, but how?"

"I…. I don't know." she said, pursing her lips together, thinking.

And then, ever so suddenly, his green eyes shot open. His pupils were the size of the tips of pins. He began to quiver, and then cry and whimper.

"Nate!" Lara exclaimed.

"N-N-NOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, rolling off of Lara's lap and into a small ball on the floor. He was sweating and crying rapidly, and shaking like a ten washing machines combined.

He had entered a horror movie.

The nightmare repeated itself over and over again, an endless amount of times. But as soon as it was over once, he forgot entirely what happened and re-entered the horrible place.

Nate found himself lying in a warm bed in a cozy room with glowing stars plastered to the ceiling. There was a woman there in the room with him, with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and stunning blue eyes. Beside her was a man with the same dark hair, but with streaks of gray and a somewhat aged face. He had green eyes. The woman approached Nate and sat down, smiling.

"Goodnight, Nathan." she whispered, kissing his forehead. "Have sweet dreams."

The man approached him and touched his hair, and then he smiled.

"He looks just like me, honey."

"Yeah, yeah." the woman said, playfully rolling her eyes. "I've heard."

With one last chuckle, he put her arm around her and led her out of the room. He stopped just before closing the door.

"Goodnight, son."

The door closed and the room was filled with darkness. Boulders clung to Nate's eyelids, and he was forced into a dreamless sleep.

He awoke in what seemed minutes in the same dark room to a shrill scream. He heard an unfamiliar sound, like water being splashed onto the floor, but not….

Nate ripped the bed sheets from his body and got out of bed. The bedroom seemed so familiar—like they were from his past life. Maybe they were. He tip-toed to the door and opened it a crack. The hallway lights were shut off. He heard an uncontrollable sobbing coming from the room at the end of the hall.

"No—Please! Not the children! Anyone but the children! Take me instead, please!"

"I plan to kill all of you." said a cold, calm voice.

There was that sound again—of thick water being splattered everywhere.

Heavy boots were clanking on the wood flooring down the hall. Fearing for his life, Nate stealthily ran to his bed and crawled under it just in the nick of time—someone had entered the room. He was tall and well built, with pale olive skin and shady black hair that fell over his face.

Nate, fearing for his life, dared not move. But he had a feeling that the man saw him. He dropped something sharp onto the floor by Nate's bed. It was a knife that clattered to the ground, covered in a thick substance. It wasn't water at all. It was blood.

"No…" Nate mouthed, his eyes wide.

"One day," said the same cool voice he heard earlier. "We'll find each other, and I'll finish the job."

The man opened Nate's window and fled into the night. All was quiet after that. Nate crawled out from under his bed and practically ran to his parent's room. He banged on the closed door.

"MOM? DAD?" he repeated over and over again until the door flew open. A cold chill passed over him, and the sight before him was something out of hell.

He flicked on the light, curious, and then he really wished he hadn't.

Blood was all he saw.

A ceiling fan was moving slowly, each _whoosh_ adding an eerie edge to the room. There was blood dripping from the ceiling, from the walls. He took a timid step into the room, and the smell of fresh gore hit him. To his right was a mirror, smothered in thick, inky red blood. He took a few steps toward the mirror and gazed into the world of glass. Behind him, he saw two large heaps—like bags of skin. He shuffled toward them.

_Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh._

He knelt down beside the heap of flesh, touching what looked like a shoulder. The body was turned over and he saw a neck, but no head. Nate turned his head to the side, and found the face of his father, his green eyes widened, his dark brown hair mangled. A river of blood flowed from his decapitated head to the rest of his body. Nate screamed, ripping his hand away from the corpse, and backed away to the bed. He turned away from his father, but instead he found two arms on each pillow. Both had smooth, hairless skin and small, motionless hands. They were his mother's.

Nate ran away from the bed, tripping on yet another heap. He foolishly peered down at it. He saw his mother's distressed face, dry tears mixing with her own blood. Her beautiful blue eyes stared at him.

Nate screamed again, tears spilling over the edges of his eyes. He crawled on his hands and knees to a dry, bloodless corner and wept until he heard sirens outside the window.

_Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..._


	8. An Abrupt Goodbye

**Chapter 8 – An Abrupt Goodbye**

Sully and Lara stood on the deck, staring out at the sea. Land was now visible, and as the captain said, they'd arrive in San Diego, California by noon. Nate was still in a hysterical state of mind, curled up in a little ball and whimpering; he barely let Lara and Sully touch him.

The waves were calm, and the sky was a beautiful, cloudless blue. Lara still held the chalice in her hand.

"You know," Sully said suddenly, still staring out at the ocean, a cigar in his mouth. "I met Nate when he was just fifteen years old. He was living with his aunt Caroline—the sweetest woman that you could ever meet; she made me a batch of warm brownies." Sully smiled at the thought. "Sadly, she died a few years ago." He took the cigar out of his mouth and stared Lara right in the eyes, deadly serious. "Cops said she was murdered. They found her body in a wasteland a mile from her home. Nate was devastated." Sully sighed, dropping the burnt-out cigar into the ocean. "They said that it was the same asshole who slaughtered his parents."

Lara, surprised, stared at Sully with disbelief, but then reality hit her, and she looked back down at the water.

"If his aunt was telling the truth, he had to spend two years in the hospital because of what he saw. He was only eight when he found his parents in the dead of night, all chopped up."

Lara felt sick to her stomach.

They put him on some kind of medication that made him forget everything, and he's been fine ever since. Though he's told me that he remembers a woman and man tucking him in at night. But he's been one hell of a pal, good natured and intelligent. I've never had a son—well, one that I actually _know_, but sometimes I like to think that—" Sully stopped immediately, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I've said too much."

But Lara nodded, understanding. Nate and Sully weren't just friends. They were family.

Lara looked up at her cabin, where Nate was staying.

"What are we going to do with him?" she asked Sully.

Sully reached into his front pocket, pulling out a small orange container of tiny white pills.

"He won't remember a thing. Good ol' Nate will be back in no time."

Lara stared at the pills, and then closed her eyes.

"I'll give them to him. What's his dosage?"

"What?" Sully said.

Lara held out her hand, her bangs covering her eyes. "The pills, Victor,"

Sully, not as reluctantly as Lara would have thought, put the container in her hand and told her that he needed to take two.

When Lara arrived at the room alone, she found Nate sitting on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands.

"I remember." he said quietly.

Lara took a few timid steps toward him. She stayed silent: what would she say to a man in as much distress as Nate?

He looked up at Lara with sad, dry eyes. "He'll be coming for me any time now. Well, _fuck_ him." He trembled with blazing anger, stood abruptly and knocked the night table over. "_FUCK HIM!_" he screamed, his face turning red. Lara concealed the pills in her belt. "I'm gonna kill him, Lara." he said darkly, turning away from her.

"What about the gems?"

"Those are for you to find, Lara." he mumbled.

Lara blinked. "No, it's not! We're in this together!"

"Since when?" he snapped.

"Since you found _this_," Lara pulled out the document. "Without this, we wouldn't have known half of the story about the gems! Without you, we wouldn't be in possession of the diamond!"

"None of that matters now." he said calmly, reloading his defender.

"So you're just going to give up, Drake?"

Drake looked murderous. "Don't you know when to leave someone alone?" he asked her quietly.

Lara took out the pills, tossing them onto the bed. "Maybe they're for the best." she said to him calmly. "After all, they're the only reason that you're sane today."

"Maybe." he said, looking down at his pistol.

"This is your destiny, Drake. You were meant to find the last few gems. Why else would you have been led down into the spare room? This could be the big one!"

Nate turned and stared and stared at her. "Why are you so desperate to have me come?"

That made Lara stop. Why _was_ she trying so hard? She could definitely find the other gems on her own, but...

Maybe, just for once, it was a two person job.

"You said you recognized the coordinates, right?" Lara questioned.

Nate twitched a little bit, but then responded, "Yes."

"Can you at least show me where it is?"

"Africa." he responded.

"Oh, great, now I know exactly where to go." Lara mumbled sarcastically.

"My parents were both wildlife photographers in the Virunga Mountains between Rwanda and Uganda. The killer was to be from the Congo Republic. The gem is probably at the peak of one of the volcanoes."

"But there are tones of volcanoes!" Lara exclaimed.

"Technically, yes." inquired Nate, finally turning to face her. "But only two of them are active."

And with that, he headed for the door. "We'll leave together. There's a chance the killer is still in the area." He holstered the pistol and left the room.

Lara noticed his pills, still on the bed. She walked over to them, picking up the orange container and rolling it around with her fingertips. Lara could not say that she knew what he had been through. She knew not what to say to Nate. She stared at the pills for what seemed like forever, but her pondering was brought to a very abrupt end when she felt the boat shaking. A familiar _BAAAANNGGGG _echoed throughout the boat, and she heard machine guns firing up. Lara stashed away the pills in her backpack and sprinted out onto the deck to investigate—she couldn't see out of her window for it was covered with tape from the earlier incident.

Outside, a wildfire blazed on the deck, many crew members were dead because of the impact of what seemed to be a bomb. Helicopters swarmed above the boat with mercenaries inside behind turrets.

"LARA, LOOK OUT!"

Lara searched her surroundings and saw a chopper, not ten feet away, a couple of sly-grinned mercenaries holding grenade launchers inside. Lara's eyes widened, they fired their arsenal, and she leapt from the stairwell. She flew for a couple of seconds, clutching the chalice in her hands, and plummeted to the ground. She smacked into it hard—_THAWK— _just as the metal stairwell exploded.

Lara got to her feet, ignoring the pain that refused to leave her body, and took cover next to Nate behind a few metal boxes near the edge of the boat.

"Are you alright?" Nate said to her, examining the bruises on her knees.

"Give me a moment." Lara whispered, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth together. She'd give herself six seconds to recover.

One… She'd get through it.

Two… Then again, pain is pain, and hurts all the same.

Three… Damn mercenaries had to ruin everything.

Four… Ouch!

Five… Break's almost over.

Six… It's show time.

Lara tore her pistols from her holsters, reloading them quickly and gripping them angrily. A shower of bullets pelted the metal cover, startling Nate a bit. He leaned over the side of the tiny cover and fired once, twice, three times, and hid behind the cover once again.

"Damn!"

"What?" Lara asked him eagerly.

"One of them's got a machine gun, the rest of them have shields. They're crawlin' everywhere!"

"Shit." Lara whispered to herself. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"What?" Nate stared at her curiously.

Lara tapped her forehead. "We've got to use our noggins."

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Nate cried.

"Get a hold of one of their shields. I'll distract them. Ready? GO!"

"What?"

Lara flew from her cover, sprinting across the deck. Nate was too busy watching her speed to realize what he was supposed to be doing. He rolled out form the cover and wringed one of the mercenaries around the neck, dragging him behind a cover. The man fired aimlessly, trying to find his target, but it was no use. Nate snapped his neck in one short, graceful movement, and snatched his Ak-47 and shield away from his corpse. He arose from his cover as he watched Lara dive toward cover. She was on the other side of the boat. The mercenaries turned swiftly as one toward Nate.

"Heya, boys!" he exclaimed as they fired their weapons.

Bullets pounded against the retaining material, and Nate was left unharmed. He saw Lara shoot from behind her new cover, and Nate let loose an array of wild, hot bullets on his enemies. Many were taken down, but a large number still stood, and Nate was almost out of bullets. He walked forward slowly, taking the force like a man, determined to take them down.

Lara had joined him, having stolen another man's gun and firing away. Nate didn't know how she did all of her fancy flips while lugging around an eighty pound gun, but she did it. When the number had decreased enough, Nate threw away the shield and began tackling the last of the men. He snapped neck after neck, and knocked man after man out cold.

Only a few mercenaries were left, along with the monster in steel armour with a hard-core machine gun. Lara had tried to sneak up on him time after time, but in the end she'd be forced to retreat to cover. Finally, every mercenary apart from the monster behind the armour had succumbed to death. Nate was gasping for breath with Lara in the maze of storage containers—the monster was hot on their trail.

The fire had spread rapidly, finding multiple barrels of gas and exploding into a fiery blaze, and the entire boat had begun shifting to one side. Both of the tomb robbers knew what was happening—the boat was sinking.

"Where's Sully?" Nate yelled, narrowly evading a spray of deadly bullets from the monster.

"I haven't seen him!" Lara replied loudly. "What about the captain?"

Nate shrugged.

"MOVE!" Lara shrieked, grabbing Nate's hand and pulling him behind a container, helping him avoid yet another attack.

Nate smiled at her, "Thanks, Croft."

"Yeah, yeah, we have to kill that thing! Our crap pistols won't kill it!"

Another shower of bullets was delivered to the metal behind them.

"I'll distract him." Nate said, grabbing the top of the box and ready to climb on top of it.

"Be careful." Lara said to him as he hauled himself onto the crate.

The monster immediately turned his attention toward Nate, who was now leaping from crate to crate, evading the inhuman man's arsenal. Lara had no idea what to do. The boat was at more of a tilt now, and almost everyone was dead. She wondered what happened to Sully and—

"LARA!"  
Lara turned around, finding Vladkof behind her. Blood was gushing down from his hairline, and a look of terror was in his green eyes.

"My men are all dead!" he exclaimed. "And my boat is capsizing!"

"I know." Lara said. "But other things are on our mind right now."

"_Our?_"

"Drake and I," Lara told him quickly, peeking around the edge of the box. Good. The monster was distracted. Now was her chance. "Be right back."

She started to walk away, but Vlad grabbed her wrist.

"You can't just go out there! He'll kill you!"

"He's just another man under all of that." Lara said, pulling away from him. "No worries, captain."

"Then I'm helping you." he said, his eyes hard.

"Fine," Lara said, trying to dismiss the conversation. She didn't have time to spare on him right now.

Lara looked around desperately, trying to find something that would take down the monster cowering behind the metal suit. She squinted at a copter that seemed to have crashed ages ago, though a fire still clung to its broken body. She raced toward it, Vlad right behind her, and took cover with the captain as the monster spotted them. She grabbed hold of an undamaged rocket launcher—yes, a rocket launcher—and smiled like a child.

"Father Christmas, thank you!" she nearly screamed. "I think I'm getting a little teary. Okay. Play time's over, you knob jockey." Lara jumped out from her cover and fired the machine.

_SWISH_—the rocket slipped out as if the insides were smothered in butter, and…. _THWACK! BOOM! KAAAAAABOOOOOM!_ An explosion took place where the soldier last stood. But he wasn't done yet. He tried to stumble to his feet, but his armour was much too heavy. Lara saw him squirm around, defenseless and weakened, and started to laugh. Nate popped out of his cover, snatching away and weapons that he tried to reach for and started to laugh with Lara. Nate ran up to her and held out his balled up fist.

"Pound it!" he insisted.

"Boo yeah!" Lara obeyed whole heartedly. And then she did something that she hadn't done in a long, long time. Her cheeks turned beet-red, and she nervously laughed. What did she just do with Nate? She went to one of the best schools of lady's edict in the entire country of England and she just _pounded it?_ What the hell—?

"Hey, you're blushing, Croft!" Nate implied, now turning to laugh at her instead. "Who knew you were capable of it."

Lara glared at her, though her cheeks were still red.

"DAMN. DAMN. DAMN!"

They all turned to see what the fuss was about. All of them saw an older man in a dirty bowling shirt, red faced and swearing coming toward them.

"SHIT. FUCK. ARRGHHH, HELL! DAMN! MOTHER FUCKERS! PRICKS! DIRTY LITTLE ASSHOLES! FUCK! _ARRGHHHHHHH!_"

"Sully?" Nate asked. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"DAMN! SHIT! FUCKING SOLIDERS! TOOK MY FUCKING CIGARS! FUCK!"

Lara burst into laughter. "Is that why you're so upset? Oh gosh! AAHHAAAHAHAHAA!"

Nate grabbed her shoulder, making sure that she was looking at him in the eye, and told her that they had to get off of the ship.

Lara realized that he was right. The ship was becoming more vertical by the second— they had to get off. Besides, land wasn't too far away. If they found a raft, they'd be able to keep safe until they hit land.

"You three go." Vlad said.

"What?" Nate said. "You can't just stay here."

"This is my ship, Mister Drake. I'm not going to abandon it."

"You're being stupid." Nate growled. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's standing by and watching people die."

"Are you sure, Vlad?" Lara asked him softly.

Nate stared at her, angered and bewildered. "You agree with this guy?"

"It's a very noble thing to do." Lara said, not taking her eyes off of the ground.

The boat shook some more.

"Goodbye, Vlad." Lara said, stepping up to him and pressing her lips against his cheek. She saluted him, and he saluted her back. "Let's go." Lara said after a moment of silence.

Nate and Sully stared to walk toward the edge of the boat together, but Lara lagged a bit, enough to tell her old friend that she was sorry, and that she had always kept him in a special place in her heart.

**The Russains are a tough people, and yet we get the sensitive buzzed guy. Maybe he's not even Russain - Vlad lied to me -.- I'm sorry this took so long, but I haven't been in the mood to write lately. I feel plenty creative now, so no worries. Anything you could advise me on? And I want you guys to choose whether Sully comes with them to Africa. So, should he tag along, or should there be a little one-on-one time with Nate and Lara? Oh, by the way, "knob jocky" is a harsh british slang term meaning to guys getting it on. Lara's gonna use it a lot =3 Hope you enjoyed chapter 8!**


	9. Story Discontinued

**So, I've decided to abandon this story, but I wrote a tiny smidgen of it before quitting completely. I left a small note at the bottom for anyone that cares. Thank you all for reading my story, it means so much to me.**

**I can't wait for the Tomb Raider to come out in 2012, and I REALLY can't wait to receive Uncharted 3 for Christmas. Happy holidays, everyone! 3**

**Chapter 9 (Discontinued)**

"Hey, Nate. Wake up, sunshine."

"Sully…" Nate whined like a small child, with his eyes firmly shut. "Go away."

Nate felt someone nudge his shoulder "You're as stubborn as an ass, Drake… But I've gotta admit, you remind me of this one girl I met a while back. I do believe it was five or six years ago, in late July. Or… was it early August? Anyway, we were spending some time together on the coast of the Caribbean…"

"Victor, it's pronounced "_Caribbean",_ not "_Caribbean_"." Nate heard Lara correct harshly.

"Pft. Like it matters."

"Of course it matters! It's not pronounced like in that pirate movie by Disney!"

"Fine, fine, _Caribbean,_ then. Where was I? Bah, I'll just start over." Sully cleared his throat. "I do believe it was five or six years ago, in late July… or was it early August…?"

"For God's sake…" Nate grumbled. He sat up tensely, opening his eyes. He found that he was on a beach with acorn brown sand and murky green depths. Within the shallow water he spotted countless pop and beer cans, and the beach itself was littered with filthy miscellaneous objects.

"We're… in California?"

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" Lara growled. "Some people, living in their own filth… makes me sick, really."

"Yeah, whatever," Nate dismissed her chatter. "How are we getting to Africa?"

"We have to make a quick stop first. I believe I have just enough cash to…"

Lara slid her backpack from her shoulders and stuck her hand in her backpack. She furiously dug in several pockets, moving ammo and bandages around until she pulled out a single, tiny object that shone in the bright afternoon sunlight.

"Found it," Lara said triumphantly.

"A quarter?" Nate moaned skeptically. "I think we'll need a little more money to get to Africa, Croft."

"Don't patronize me, dimwit. This is for a payphone." Lara growled. She stood up, dusting her knees off, and began to walk into the city.

"Uhh, you realize we're all soaking wet, right?" Sully called after her.

"I sure do." she called back.

Sully and Nate exchanged confused glances, and then got up and trailed after her.

"Good afternoon," Lara spoke into a sleek black telephone. "Please make the preparations for my arrival… No, I have two men travelling with me… Yes… San Diego, California, how long will you be? Sure, we'll be there. Thank you, Winston."

Lara hung up the telephone and turned to Nate and Sully.

"Who's _Winston_?" Sully asked curiously.

"His family has been working for mine for generations. He's my caretaker."

"Whoa, Croft, _you_ have a _butler?_" Nate gaped in awe.

Lara rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose _some_ people would call him that."

"Anyway, where are we supposed to meet him?"

"He's not coming; a couple of old friends are coming by to give us a ride to England."

"England? Well, when will they be here?"

Lara reached into her bag and took out a small receiver. "I turned this on about half an hour ago when I reached into my bag for that quarter. Winston and I have a certain system set up. I have to call him to confirm that I wasn't taken by hostage or any other scenario like that. He sent out the plane around the time I hit the switch on the receiver, so…"

"So?"

Lara looked up at them both. "We are to meet them at a base just outside of town. Since it took us so long to find a damn payphone…" Lara glared at the booth for a moment before returning her gaze back to Nate and Sully. "We should meet them at the base, which is approximately 12 miles away… in about forty-five minutes."

"Well, do you have any money for a taxi?" Nate asked nervously. "Because I don't, and Sully sure as hell doesn't…"

Lara smiled mischievously, then turned and started down the street. She looked back at them and tapped her wrist. "Forty-three minutes, boys." With that, she began to sprint down the street.

Nate and Sully glanced at each other quickly and Sully just smiled and shrugged. "That ass is the only thing that keeps me going, Nate." Sully smacked his shoulder and jogged after her.

"Urgh, Crap," Nate murmured, as he too, began to jog.

"Here we are," Lara climbed onto a sleek, jet-black motorcycle. She lifted the seat up by a few inches and pulled out a long silver key. She grinned with satisfaction. "You sap, hiding it there is the oldest trick in the book."

"So, we're gonna jack this thing?" Nate questioned with a playful, humorous edge to his voice.

Lara peered from the bike in the parking lot into a window of a café the owner was in. She spotted him, sipping hot coffee while reading the morning paper, a black helmet placed in front of him.

"We should take the bike quickly, before he notices that it's gone. Get on." Lara ordered.

"Whoa, whoa," Sully pushed Nate and cantered up to Lara. "Let me drive."

Lara squinted at him. "Alright, old man, I sure hope you can drive better than you handle a gun."

Sully, with a glare, mounted the bike, and Lara slid into the back seat.

"Well… don't tell me I have to sit _there_," Nate complained, eyeing the dorky, round sidecar.

"Nate, we have to go. Be a good sport, now," Lara told him sternly.

"Damn it," Nate mumbled, hopping into it. "Let's just go, already."

"Sully, I need you to start this thing as quickly as possible and find the nearest exit; we don't want to dilly-dally."

And they were off.

**That's the end of it. I'm terribly sorry for all of you who were looking forward to the story, but those who are truly good sports will use their imagination to figure out the rest of this story. I planned to have Nate and Lara before good friends, and then, as their adventure ends, Nate learns a little more about tomb raiding while Lara learns more about having fun with life. At the end, they were to depart at a dock in the early morning. Lara's leaving for home, Drake's going back to the U.S. And there they leave each other forever; Lara walks off into a misty haze and Drake stays put, watching her go. He smirks and makes a smart remark. And that was to be the end.**

**However, I lost faith in this story, completely losing sight of it's potential. I regret this. If anyone wants advice, it's to keep going. I kept putting this off until I totally forgot about it, and now this story is being left alone; abandoned. Treat your stories with care, everyone!**

**-Genie :)**


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